Centenary Stage Company, a not-for-profit professional theater in Hackettstown, NJ is excited to announce their Summerfest lineup of Concert events and Musical Theater. The summer 2025 season will feature two musical theatre productions, a concert, and a comedy performance in the months of July – August. The Summerfest begins with a CSC’s production of Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville, then a concert featuring Yacht Rock Gold Experience, followed by CSC’s production of Nunsense II: The Second Coming, and closing out the Summerfest 2025 will be a one-night performance from comedianPaula Poundstone. Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville will run from July 10th – 20th, Yacht Rock Gold Experience will play on July 26th at 8:00 PM, Nunsense II: The Second Coming will run from July 31st – August 10th, and Paula Poundstone will take the Sitnik stage on August 23rd at 8:00 PM.

In Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville, imagine a place where the sun is hot, the ocean’s warm, and the drinks are as cold as they are plentiful. Welcome to Margaritaville, the island paradise where city folk get away from it all and the locals get into the kind of trouble you can almost always sweet talk your way out of. Featuring both original songs and your most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, this new musical comedy is the story of a part-time bartender, part-time singer, and full-time charmer named Tully who thinks he’s got life all figured out. Until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything. Featuring the most-loved Jimmy Buffett classics, including “Cheeseburger in Paradise”, “Margaritaville,” “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” “Fins,” “Volcano,” and many more. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia (“My Name is Earl,” “Raising Hope”) and Emmy nominee Mike O’Malley (“Survivor’s Remorse,” “Shameless”).

Yacht Rock Gold Experience brings all your favorite hits from the late 1970’s-early 1980’s to new generations of music fans. Celebrating the sounds of the Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Steely Dan, Christopher Cross, Kenny Loggins, Little River Band, Ambrosia, Boz Scaggs and so many more, Yacht Rock Gold Experience engages fans with harmonies and musicianship that bring audiences back to a time when music made you “feel good and soothed the soul”.

The Little Sisters of Hoboken, those humble nuns with a touch of show biz flair, return in style with Nunsense II: The Second Coming. Presenting a high-spirited and zany “Thank You Program” for their many supporters, the sisters sing and dance their way across the Mount St. Helen’s stage, which is already dressed for the Hoboken Music Society’s upcoming production of The Mikado. Musical numbers include “Winning Is Just the Beginning,” “There’s Only One Way To End Your Prayers,” “What Would Elvis Do?,” “The Padre Polka” and “A Hat and Cane Song.” After a successful run of Nunsense in the summer of 2019, Centenary Stage Company brings the sisters and their sequel back to the Sitnik.

Paula Poundstone is known for her smart, observational humor and a spontaneous wit.  She regularly plays theaters across the country, hosts a weekly comedy podcast, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, and is a regular panelist on NPR’s Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me. She also voiced the character ‘Forgetter Paula’ in the feature films Inside Out and Inside Out 2. Paula has starred in several HBO specials, including Cats, Cops and Stuff, which nabbed a cable ACE award for Best Comedy Special. She was the first female comic to host the White House Correspondents Dinner. She filed live coverage of the 1992 Democratic and Republican National Conventions and the Presidential Inaugural for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and at the 93rd Emmy Awards. Paula has starred in two television series, both entitled The Paula Poundstone Show. Paula’s second book, The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness, was one of eight semi-finalists for the Thurber Prize For American Humor; the audiobook was one of five finalists for the AUDIE award for Audiobook of the Year. Paula has released five albums and is featured in several documentaries and compendiums noting influential comedians of our time.

All of Centenary Stage Company’s Summerfest series events will take place in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center located at 715 Grand Ave, Hackettstown NJ. Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville will run from July 10th – 20th, Yacht Rock Gold Experience will play on July 26th at 8:00 PM, Nunsense II: The Second Coming will run from July 31st – August 10th, and Paula Poundstone will take the Sitnik stage on August 23rd at 8:00 PM.

Jimmy Buffet’s Escape to Margaritaville tickets range from $29.50 – $35 with discounts available for seniors & students/children under 12 for select performances. Tickets for Yacht Rock Gold Experience are $30 for balcony and $35 for orchestra with a $5 increase if purchasing on the day of the performance.  Nunsense II: The Second Coming tickets range from $27.50 – $29.50 with discounts available for seniors & students/children under 12 for select performances. Tickets for Paula Poundstone are $35 for balcony and $40 for orchestra with a $5 increase if purchasing on the day of the performance. For the musical productions, Thursday is also family night with “buy one, get one” tickets available at the door beginning at 5:00 pm.

For more information, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900. The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00-5:00 pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ. Centenary Stage Company can also be found across social media platforms; Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter. Like and follow to receive the latest in CSC news and special offers. 

The 2024-25 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors and grantors like the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Explore Warren, the House of the Good Shepherd, Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.